share trading journal by Flavio Giannitto

NYSE

Wallstreet Traders Report June 11th

Facebook (FB)

Shares in the social media giant Facebook (FB) increased 4.6% at the close of trading on Tuesday. This increase was on the back of the announcement a PayPal head will join the company to head it’s messaging products division.

The share price below shows the recent price action with a strong breakout from recent congestion. The breakout occurred on relative strong volume which adds to the bulls conviction to rise the share price.

Traders can look at entering a long position with a target price close to the March high of $72.00. Stops can be placed under the most recent congestion low of $62.00.

Wall Street Trader Report April 28th

It’s been several weeks since my last blog post as I decided to take 2 weeks off from trading the markets. In that time I have been able to take a step back and analyse the broader market sentiment without the pressure of finding new trading opportunities. This article will focus solely on the three main US financial indexes of the Dow Jones, S&P500 and the Nasdaq 100.

Dow Jones Index

In early April the Dow Jones tested the December 31st resistance level of 16,600 but failed to clear this level and subsequently fell and held at the support level of 16,050. The rally has headed back up towards the 16,600 level but appears to be losing momentum. The current chart looks to be forming the right shoulder of a top reversal head and shoulders pattern. If the index continues to fall and then breakdown below the 16,050 support then this would signal a valid head and shoulders reversal formation. At that point further declines towards the next support level of 15,350 would be possible.

Dow Jones Index

S&P 500 Index

The broader S&P500 index has been slightly less volatile than the Dow Jones index above. It is currently range trading in a longer term up trend. The price appears to be having trouble clearing the 1,900 resistance level and it would not surprise me to see the price head back towards the up-trend line and find support there before it pushes higher.

S&P 500 Index

Nasdaq 100 Index

The Nasdaq is currently trading in a downward trend channel and making a series of lower highs and lower lows. The bigger picture shows the possible formation of a head an shoulders reversal pattern as I have illustrated with the three black circles. I see the index pushing back towards the support level of 3,420 in the coming weeks and if this level is broken then it would validate the reversal pattern. At this stage I will be staying on the sidelines for any long position trades for shares in the top 100 Nasdaq Index.

Wall Street Trader Report February 18th

Dow Jones Index

Chart 1. Dow Jones Index

The US markets were closed yesterday for the President’s Day national public holiday. The Dow Jones Index has made strong gains over the past week and is currently trading at the 16,200 resistance level. After such a strong bullish run there may be a retracement back towards support before it makes it’s next thrust higher.

Allied Nevada Gold (ANV)

Allied Nevada Gold has been consolidating over the past 6 months with a horizontal resistance level at $5.34 which was cleared on Friday with a breakout candle.

In this situation I would normally wait for the market to open the day after the breakout before I placed a market order. If the price can open above the resistance level of $5.34 and hold for the first hour of the trading session then I would look to enter. If this occurs then my preference would be to enter within the range of the real body of Friday’s breakout candle. An appropriate stop loss would be a few cents under the $5.00 round number value.

Chart 2. Allied Nevada Gold (AVN)

Seabridge Gold (SA)

Seabridge Gold has a similar chart setup to Allied Nevada above. It has consolidated and formed a base over the past three months with the formation of an ascending triangle. Friday saw a bullish candle breakout from the resistance level of $9.00. Traders should wait till today’s open to ensure it opens above the $9.00 level before going long. I will place my stops below the red line as indicated ($8.44).

Chart 3. Seabridge Gold (SA) Feb 18th

The website pages section has been updated and contains my NYSE chart of the day for Boston Scientificwhich has a more thorough trading analysis.

Please feel free to provide feedback on what you like about my blog or things you would like me to discuss.

Wall Street Trader Radar January 30th

Dow Jones Index

U.S. stocks rebounded on Thursday as investors welcomed data showing a robust pace of growth in the economy in the final quarter of last year, while upbeat earnings from Facebook gave confidence to the tech sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 109.82 points, or 0.7%, higher at 15,848.61 rejecting the support level I have identified on the daily chart. This is an important technical level with any breach below 15,720 signalling weakness and may precipitate further declines towards 14,765.

Duke Realty Corp (DRE)

Duke Realty Corp reported a better than expected fourth quarter revenue increase of 7.9% on the corresponding period last year. The share price has been consolidating sideways over the past several months. I have highlighted the cup and handle pattern formation on the price chart below. This pattern occurred at a support level and a breakout of the resistance level yesterday on a good earnings report gives the appropriate signal to trade this share on the long side.

I would look to enter somewhere just above the resistance level with a stop loss just under yesterday’s candle low.

Zebra Technologies (ZBRA)

ZBRA brokeout from a trading range overnight on increased volume. This is a bullish trading signal and is likely to signal further price increases.

Wall Street Trader Radar January 29th

Dow Jones Index

The Dow Jones Index continues to show weakness. Overnight declines saw the index close at 15,738 points which is just above the support level identified on the chart below. If the index breaks below the 15,720 support level then further declines are possible so traders need to be watching this critical price level to determine the future market direction.

Chart 1. Dow Jones Index

Given the recent short term bearish sentiment it has been harder to find good long trading opportunities on the US stockmarket. However I did manage to find three stocks with sound technical formations.

Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA)

There was a breakout from $7.80 resistance on strong volume four days ago with a subsequent orderly retracement. I will be watch for a bullish candle close to provide my trigger to enter long. Stops under $7.00.

Chart 2. Ariad Pharma. (ARIA)

National Fuel Gas (NFG)

The stock managed to breakout from resistance six days ago. Yesterday saw a bullish candle on strong volume confirming the breakout.

Chart 3. National Fuel Gas (NFG)

Rovi Corp (ROVI)

The price action is forming a bullish flag/pennant. Traders will need to wait for a breakout from the upper trendline of the flag to trigger this setup.

Wall Street Trader Radar January 28th

US stocks rebounded on Tuesday after the recent heavy sell off of the previous week. The S&P500 Index closed up 10.94 points, or 0.6%, at 1,792.50, snapping a three-day decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 90.68 points, or 0.6%, to 15,928.56, breaking a five-day losing streak. The charts below provide further clarity and my technical analysis.

Dow Jones Index

The sell off from the all time highs achieved on December 31 has been swift with recent accelerated downward momentum over the past week. The index price is moving towards the significant price level of 15,700 which has acted as both resistance and support in the past 12 months as highlighted on the chart by the yellow circles. The Index could drop further from current levels of 15,900 and pause at this support level of 15,700 before making its next move. A breakdown below 15,700 could trigger further declines with the next lower support level not coming in until 14,765.

Chart 1. Dow Jones Index January 28

S&P 500 Index

The broader S&P500 index has also been sold off heavily over the past few weeks and has found support at the December support level of 1,775. The index could use this support and use it to propel prices higher where it is expected to hit resistance at 1,810. A breakdown below 1,775 could see prices decline to the next lower support level of 1,745.

Chart 2. S&P 500 Index January 28th

Because of the recent short term decline in both the Dow Jones Index and the S&P 500 index I will be remaining on the sidelines and not taking on any long positions until the market can find direction.

This stock trades on the New York Stock exchange and provides securities brokerage services and technology based financial services to retail investors, traders and independent registered investment advisors. It provides services through the Internet, a national branch network. The company offers common and preferred stock, exchange-traded funds, options, mutual funds, fixed income, margin lending and cash management services.

It is due to announce its earnings today July 23rd.

The chart of its share price below sows it has been in a strong up trend. It has consolidated sideways and formed a pennant flag. Depending on the results of its earnings this could breakout out of the pennant today if earnings are on target or better than expected.

I would not enter this trade until after its earnings are announced. A potential trade setup is to Buy at $26.26 with stops placed below the lows of the pennant at $25.36.

The Dow Jones Index closed on Thursday at record highs. This was as a result of the comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who said the U.S. central bank will keep a loose monetary policy for some time to lower the unemployment rate. Several weeks ago the markets were concerned that federal support in the form of monetary stimulus policy would be cut back in the next 12 months. Markets have now been buoyed by his recent comments that this may take further time to eventuate

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 169.26 points or 1.11 percent, to 15,460.92. The S&P 500 gained 22.4 points or 1.36 percent, to 1,675.02 and the Nasdaq Composite added 57.55 points or 1.63 percent, to 3,578.3.

The daily chart of the Dow below shows the close at an all time higher. The market did temporarily test higher prices in late May but closed lower (circled areas). Given the bullish momentum the expectation is for this market to continue to rise. Any retracement downwards is likely to be supported at 14,900.Support come in at 14,900.

Facebook (FB)

I posted a chart for Facebook (FB) shares 2 days ago showing the breakout from the ascending triangle. This has continued to gain momentum and Thursday there was the formation of a pinbar candle. I expect prices to keep rising from here. Any retracement lower should be held up by $25.15 resistance/support level. I have moved my stops up to just below this level to protect my profits.

Earnings season starts to get underway this week on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This is always a volatile time for shares as earnings announcements can have a significant impact on the share price.

If a company announces improved earnings above the analysts estimates then it can send prices souring. Conversely any negative announcement in quarterly earnings that the market was not expecting can send a share price plummeting very quickly.

Many companies make announcements either before the market opens or after the close. This can then have the effect of prices opening significantly above or below the previous days close which causes a gap in prices. In this situation a trader can be left high and dry if the price moves against their position and the price opens below their intended stop loss level. In this situation a greater loss than intended is sustained and is one of the risks a trader needs to take into consideration into their trading plan.

I have updated the NYSE charts page and identified trading chart setups for the following shares

The Dow Jones enjoyed a positive day on the markets Tuesday on the back of some bullish financial reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 100 points (0.7%) to close at 14,760. Economic reports indicated that US consumer confidence this month increased to 81.4 ahead of estimates at 75.0, and new home sales were better than expected.

The news coming out of China was also better with the People’s Bank of China stating it would provide the necessary funds to other lending institutions and ease the current credit crisis.

The 4 hour chart below shows the index positioned between resistance of 14,900 and support of 14,450. I expect further sideways movement in the index until a clear break is made from either of the above levels. A break below 14,450 will indicate that this market correction from its May highs has further to move to the downside.

The Asian and Australian markes are likley to follow the US market today and show positive gains. I still favour sitting on the sidelines with any further positions till I see a clear market direction.